3 Ways to Gauge the Benefits of New Social Networks

They’re breeding. In the last couple of years, social networks have started to proliferate in a big way, coursing through the brains of communicators who are still trying to figure out how to monetize some of the original social channels à la Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

New social networks and apps are coming fast and furious. As they get additional rounds of funding, the platforms will inevitably look to brands and marketers to drive them toward the mainstream.

Two startups that are starting to gain traction in the social networking sphere are Whisper and Secret, which enable users to express their thoughts without names attached.

PR pros might ask, what’s the purpose of using a social network that encourages anonymity? There’s been a similar response in PR precincts with regard to Snapchat, a photo messaging application in which the messages self-destruct within 10 seconds.

So far, the general consensus among communicators has been: How can Snapchat help to get the word out when it’s based on ephemeral messaging? Perhaps HBO, McDonald’s, Taco Bell and other mega brands that are experimenting with Snapchat can provide the answer.

Medium is another startup that, considering the track record of founder Evan Williams (Blogger, Twitter), may become a household name soon enough. The website, which caters to amateur writers and professional ones, now gets 13 million unique users a month, according to The New York Times.

Unlike most websites, there are no comments at the end of posts on Medium. However, readers can leave notes tied to specific words or phrases. Sounds like a subtle yet legitimate way to get your message out.

As traditional media outlets become subordinate to social platforms, the onus will fall to communicators to figure out which of the nascent social networks can juice their PR programs and which to leave well enough alone.

With that in mind, here are few questions to determine if some of the new social networks referred to above—and those that we haven’t yet heard about, but no doubt will emerge—can apply to your PR and marketing efforts.

> Does the network hold appeal to any of your audiences? Better yet, is there a solid percentage of younger people who flock to your brand? If so, they’ll probably flock to nascent social networks, too. Then you have to monitor how “sticky” those audiences might be with a specific network.

> Do your brand attributes dovetail with myriad technologies afforded by the social networks? Does your PR strategy sometimes include teasing an audience or promoting scarcity? (That’s Snapchat’s raison d’être, for now.)

> How can new social networks enhance your events and conferences? Is Medium a vehicle to get a better read on which keywords (and thus ideas) might work best when a C-level executive is making a presentation about the company’s products and services? Is Whisper a way to surreptitiously start a conversation with customers and prospects?

These are questions PR pros are going to have to start asking. Better that than to pooh-pooh yet another social network. That’s a nonstarter.